CATHERINE KING – MEDIA RELEASE – BLANK CHEQUES AND EMPTY PROMISES: MORRISON GOVERNMENT STILL FLAILING ON INLAND RAIL – FRIDAY, 28 MAY 2021

The Morrison Government has no plan where Inland Rail will start, where it will end, the route it will take or how it will interact with existing stations up and down the country – but that hasn’t stopped ministers from talking up the supposed benefits of this project. 

Just today, the Deputy Prime Minister has released figures showing that the project will save $170 million annually in transport costs.

These savings – if ever delivered – would of course be welcome, but the truth is they pale in comparison to the $14.5b cost of the project.

Under the Deputy Prime Minister’s stewardship, total costs for this project have already blown out from $9.3 billion to $14.5 billion – with hints of more blowouts to come.

The Deputy Prime Minister seems to have been handed a blank cheque when it comes to completing this project and is spending ever-growing sums of money to cover up his ongoing mismanagement.

Appearing before the Senate Estimates just this week, the Australian Rail Track Corporation confirmed that the Morrison Government has yet to determine where the route will start in Melbourne, that they are going back to the drawing board regarding stations throughout Victoria and they have absolutely no idea where it will end in Queensland. 

It might end in Bromelton, it might be Ebenezer, it might be in Acacia Ridge or it might be in Toowoomba – the Morrison Government simply has no idea.

Labor wants this project to succeed. When in Government, Labor got Inland Rail underway with investments of $900 million to progress this project to the construction stage.

This project is too important to stuff up, but that is exactly what the Morrison Government is doing.

Rather than blowing their own trumpet, the Morrison Government needs to focus on getting this important project right.

FRIDAY, 28 MAY 2021